Armenia-EU prospects to clear up after EEU accession: German envoy
Panarmenian.am, October 03, 2014, https://www.panarmenian.net/
Armenia’s prospects with the EU ties will clear up after the former's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union, German envoy said.
"Despite non-signing of the association agreement at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, Armenia announced readiness to maintain ties with Europe," Reiner Morell told reporters.
"Europe is waiting for Armenia to decide on its course with Europe. Afterwards it will be easier to determine format of these ties," Novosti Armenia quoted the envoy as saying.
EU-Armenia Relations
PACE adopts resolution encouraging Armenia and criticizing Azerbaijan
Armenpress.am, October 04, 2014, https://armenpress.am/eng/news/778903/pace-adopts-resolution-encouraging-armenia-and-criticizing-azerbaijan.html
In the result of the autumn session, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted a resolution, which assesses positively the implementation of the alternative military service in Armenia. As reports “Armenpress”, the document states that such a change is in conformity with the European standards and is the beginning of the constitutional reforms process.
At the same time, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has expressed its concerns about the persecution and pressures against the journalists and civil society activists in Azerbaijan. Among other things, the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stated that Azerbaijan has recorded a regress in the issue of respect to the human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Russian-Led Bloc Not Enough For Robust Growth, Says World Bank
Azatutyun.am, October 03, 2014, https://www.azatutyun.am/
Membership in a Russian-led trade alliance alone will not speed up Armenia’s economic development and needs to be complemented by closer commercial ties with Europe, the World Bank cautioned on Friday.
“Assume that Armenia does join the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and fully exploits all of the opportunities there,” said Laura Bailey, head of the bank’s Yerevan office. “Is that enough for Armenia’s economic growth? The World Bank would say no. We would say that Armenia should be more ambitious.”
“After it has joined the EEU and fully exploited all the possibilities, Armenia should also see what other opportunities there are to continue to deepen and strengthen its trade relationships with member states in the European Union, even if they are not part of that formal partnership. It would be this ability to creatively exploit as many different markets as possible, without being locked into a bloc, that will determine the dynamism of Armenia’s economy in the medium term,” Bailey told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) in an interview.
EC, EBU to strengthen cooperation in Neighborhood Region
Panarmenian.net, October 03, 2014, https://www.panarmenian.net/
The European Commission and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) will work together to strengthen the independence of the media in the European Neighborhood Region, following a meeting between Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy, Štefan Füle, and EBU President Jean-Paul Phillipot and EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre.
The organizations have signed and exchanged letters to cement their cooperation in the European Neighborhood region, building on existing collaboration in the context of EU Enlargement policy.
EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy, Štefan Füle, said: “Freedom of expression, free press and media are the pillars of deep and sustainable democracy, which is one of the core objectives of the European Neighborhood Policy. I am very happy that the European Broadcasting Union shares our view that securing freedom of expression requires a continuous effort by all stakeholders.”
General News on Armenia
UN rights office condemns destruction of Armenian holy sites as ISIL terror continues
Tert.am, October 06, 2014, https://www.tert.am/en/news/
The United Nations human rights office on Friday expressed concern about the continuing wave of destruction unleashed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) amid reports that the terrorist group has targeted and destroyed a number of religious buildings in areas under its control.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had earlier reported about ISIL the militants violent act that led to the destruction of the Armenian church in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor in mid-September (as part of an ongoing campaign of violence and terror which has seen the group also blow up mosques, shrines and damage churches in northern Iraq).
“We condemn the destruction of the church and of other religious institutions,” OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville told a news briefing in Geneva.
“We stress that religious personnel and buildings dedicated to religion enjoy specific protection under international humanitarian law and must be respected and protected by all parties.”
Russian-Armenian businessman released, placed under house arrest
News.am, October 03, 2014, https://news.am/eng/news/
A Moscow district court on Friday commuted the restraining order for well-known and jailed Russian-Armenian businessman Levon Hayrapetyan to house arrest.
In its respective ruling, the court considered the fact that Hayrapetyan suffers from diabetes and cancer, and he had suffered two heart attacks.
The source notes that as a result, the court has in fact granted the investigator’s motion to commute Hayrapetyan’s restraining order.
S. Ohanyan: We pay much attention to the cooperation between Armenia and Russia
Times.am, October 03, 2014, https://www.times.am/?p=95577&
On October 3 "Kalashnikov" concern regional branch was opened in Armenia. Press service of Armenian Defense Ministry informs about this.
Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan, first Deputy Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan, high-level military personal, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volinkin, representatives of "Kalashnikov" concern attended the event.
High-level servicemen spoke about the further development of the Armenian-Russian cooperation in military sphere.
Armenian Defense Minister also rated the cooperation. "We pay much attention to the cooperation between Armenia and Russia. I think that all the signed documents give importance to our relations, especially in the military sphere. I congratulate on this important event and wish new success. I think, this will serve for all of us to strengthen regional security", S. Ohanyan stated.
During the event the industrial examples of "Kalashnikov" concern were presented.
Armenia, Microsoft Sign Agreement on IT Development
Asbarez.com, October 03 , 2014, https://asbarez.com/127555/
Armenia’s government and Microsoft Corporation signed an agreement on Thursday at ArmTech Congress 2014 in New York, an Armenian technology business forum held each year alternatingly in Armenia and the United States.
The press office of the Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) told Arka News Agency on Thursday that the memorandum has been signed to promote innovative projects aimed at IT development in Armenia.
The agreement also implies cooperation in enforcing intellectual property and software copyright laws.
A joint group has been set up for fleshing out the projects envisioned in the agreement.
Unique Armenian newspaper discovered in Hoover Library
Armradio.am, October 06, 2014, https://www.armradio.am/en/
The microfilming staff at Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace recently came across an unmarked box of microfilm that presented them with difficulty: a copy of a newspaper from World War I published in the Armenian script, according to the Institution’ss official website.
To help transliterate the title, the Hoover librarian turned to Behzad Allahyar, principal Middle East languages cataloger for Stanford University Libraries; he in turn sought help from Nora Avetyan, the librarian for Armenian and Persian at UCLA. With the help of those two colleagues, we had enough information to identify and catalog this publication, as well as realizing that no other copies appear to be available. We are proud that the Hoover Library has again added an item unique to its collection.
The newspaper, entitled Zang, was produced by the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party, founded in Switzerland in 1887 by Armenians hoping to establish an independent Armenia free from the Ottoman Empire. (It also may have been the first socialist political party in the Ottoman Empire.)
General News on Karabakh
France’s Bourg lès Valence, Artsakh’s Shushi sign friendship declaration
Armradio.am, October 05, 2014, https://www.armradio.am/en/
On 5 October President of the Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan received the delegation of the French Bourg lès Valence city headed by its Mayor Marlène Mourier.
President Sahakyan welcomed the signing of the friendship declaration between the towns Bourg lès Valence and Shushi considering this direction of mutual cooperation among the bases of strengthening ties between Artsakh and France. Issues related to Artsakh’s domestic and foreign policy were also touched upon.
Artsakh Republic foreign minister Karen Mirzoyan and other officials partook in the meeting.
220 Azeri ceasefire violations reported on week of Sept 28-Oct 4
Panarmenian.net, October 03, 2014, https://www.panarmenian.net/
220 ceasefire violations by Azeri side were reported at the line of contact between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijani armed forces from September 28-October 4.
Azerbaijan fired over 1200 shots from various caliber weapons towards the positions of Karabakh defense army, which retains full control of the situation and takes retaliatory measures only in case of necessity.
Karabakh serviceman David Navasardyan, was killed in Azeri sniper attack on Monday, October 1.
The soldier received a gunshot wound in the head at the military unit of the Nagorno Karabakh defense army. An investigation is underway to clarify the details of the incident.
Over the past months, repeated Azeri attacks against Armenia and Karabakh have resulted in over 20 deaths at the line of contact.
Azerbaijan captivity badly impacts repatriated Armenian soldier’s health
News.am, October 03, 2014, https://news.am/eng/news/
Being in captivity for a long time and the stressful situation has taken its toll on the health of Armenian military serviceman Hakob Injighulyan.
The aforesaid is evidenced by the results of Injighulyan’s medical checkup that was conducted at Surb Grigor Lusavorich (Saint Gregory the Illuminator) Medical Center of Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan.
Center Neurology Clinic Director Gurgen Hovhannisyan told reporters that a respective medical commission was set up and it included the best experts in Armenia.
A detailed medical examination was conducted on Injighulyan, and as a result, he was diagnosed with vegetative-vascular dystonia, which is a result of long-term stress.
In addition, it was found out that the Armenian soldier had a nasal septum deformity and a respiratory function failure.
Furthermore, Injighulyan has problems with vision, even including temporary loss of vision, which aggravated as a result of his experiences.
Also, the Armenian military soldier was diagnosed with chronic bronchitis.
News from International Sources
European commissioner for human rights visits Armenia
Vestnikkavkaza.net, October 06, 2014, https://vestnikkavkaza.net/
European Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks continues his visit to Armenia. He arrived on October 5 and will continue the visit until October 9. Muiznieks will meet ministers, lawmakers, judicial officials, members of national human rights centers and public organizations, the European commissioner said on Facebook.
He will discuss justice, women’s rights and gender equality.
News on Turkey
Censorship in 'New Turkey' out of control, media groups show
Todayszaman.com, October 04, 2014, https://www.todayszaman.com/
This past week, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government shut down a critical news site, censored an article written by a columnist and launched an investigation into another news portal.
True, all this was done by Turkey's “independent judiciary,” which the AK Party has, to a certain extent, managed to fill with loyalists. Turkey's increasingly Draconian laws on controlling and censoring the Internet and stifling other media freedoms have been a major source of concern for both domestic and international organizations. The country is known for jailing journalists -- it had the highest number of imprisoned journalists until recently, and it is famous for its Twitter and YouTube bans.
International organizations have long been concerned about free speech and press freedoms in Turkey. A delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Press Institute (IPI) were in Turkey last week, talking to both government officials and media representatives. Erdoğan told the delegation during their meeting that he is “increasingly against the Internet.” In a statement released after the meeting, the CPJ-IPI delegation said it welcomed Erdoğan accepting to meet with the organizations.
Turkey’s EU strategy: Promising, but...
Harriyetdailynews.com, October 06, 2014, https://www.hurriyetdailynews.
A week ago, the Turkish Ministry for EU Affairs issued an interesting and basically positive document, “Turkey’s European Union Strategy,” as a preliminary design of a new approach to EU membership. As we read in the document, the EU strategy “will become operational upon adoption of the National Action Plan for EU Accession andEuropean Union Communication Strategy, in November 2014.” It is worth mentioning that in the meantime the European Commission will deliver the 2014 Progress Report, assessing the state of the situation. We will see whether or not the Turkish EU Ministry’s document will be taken into account in the report, as was the case last year with the Democratization Package. Probably the answer is yes, and in this case the painting will show brighter colors.
The document emerges a quite positive vision of the accession process. In its first lines, the accession process is describes as “the most important modernization project, after the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey.” In the following pages, EU membership is seen as a process “accelerating the political reform dynamics that have served to further improve the living standards of citizens and deepen the rule of law and democratization.” In diplomatic language, (provided that my reading is correct), the document also makes reference to the needs that emerged after the Soma mine tragedy: “The occupational accidents that recently took place in Turkey point to the importance of implementation, inspection and mentality in alignment with the EU legislation.”
News from Azerbaijani Sources
Andrei Sakharov Freedom Award to political prisoners in Azerbaijan
Contact.az (oppositional), October 06, 2014, https://www.contact.az/docs/
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee awards The Andrei Sakharov Freedom Award in 2014 to political prisoners in Azerbaijan. They exhibit great courage and make huge efforts in promoting dignity, democratic values and human rights in their home country.
Azerbaijan is a European country that is developing towards dictatorship, says Secretary General of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC), Bjørn Engesland, in today’s press release.
This award is given to all of the political prisoners. It is a sad fact that they are too numerous to all be mentioned here.
The authorities in oil and gas-rich Azerbaijan by the Caspian Sea have for years brutally silenced critics by accusing them of fictive crimes and then sentencing them to lengthy prison terms. Local human rights activists have, by applying the Council of Europe’s criteria, identified 98 political prisoners in the country. Among these prisoners, we find some of the most knowledgeable, experienced and visible human rights defenders, journalists, youth activists and opposition politicians. Several of the NHC partners and friends are behind bars, either on remand or already sentenced to many years of incarceration. Civil society in Azerbaijan is being crushed - and one of Norway’s partner countries is increasingly taking the appearance of a dictatorship. Norwegian oil company Statoil is one of the biggest actors in Azerbaijan.